Lip balms are semisolid compositions comprising moisturizers and/or moisture sealing components used to heal damaged lips and protect them from exposure to the environment. Lip balms are available in different shapes and receptacle types. Jars and pots are usually filled to a level just below the rim, and the lip balm is applied by removing a small amount of the semisolid with a finger and rubbing the finger across the lips. These lip balms are often considered by consumers to be messier and less sterile than some other lip balm forms.
Stick lip balms are cylindrical or bullet shaped and delivered through a tube. Stick lip balms are applied by extending the stick from the tube, and, using the tube as a handle, moving the lip balm over the lips. A dual-ended stick lip balm is commercially available, i.e., CHAPSTICK® MIXSTIX®, but the lip balms on each end are not detachable; only certain, fixed flavor combinations are available, and they are not replaceable upon depletion.
Recently, domed lip balms have become popular as aesthetically pleasing and easy to apply due to the rounded shape. Cube-shaped holders such as in U.S. Pat. D 735,413 and substantially spherical shaped holders such as in U.S. Pat. No. 8,888,391 are commercially available. The spherical holder of U.S. Pat. No. 8,888,391 has a two-piece exterior, with an upper portion and a lower portion. The lower portion contains a detachable interior piece—a wheel-shaped support platform, through which the lip balm is held in place. The lower portion is used as a grip when applying the lip balm.
These domed lip balm holders in the prior art are single-ended, having only one lip balm per product, and the lip balm is not releasable from or replaceable in the holder. The holder is not connectable or engageable with other lip balm holders.
Moreover, issues with commercially available domed lip balms have been extensively noted on Internet websites. Because of the shape of domed lip balms and the support platforms typically used to hold them, a large amount of the lip balm material is held below the support platform and thus is unusable by the consumer. This is exacerbated when the lip balm is accidentally exposed to excessive temperatures, such as leaving it in a hot car or sending it through a clothes dryer. Semisolid lip balms typically should be used and stored at temperatures lower than about 40° C., preferably below 30° C. If exposed to extremely high temperatures—temperatures above the melting point of the semisolid lip balm—the lip balm will become liquid. In domed lip balms with an open-type support mechanism, much of the lip balm problematically relocates to the bottommost area, where it is no longer usable without significant effort. Retrieval of unusable lip balm material has led consumers to disassemble the receptacle or re-melt the lip balm and transfer it to another holder so that the consumer can use it as a jar lip balm.
A need exists for a more usable domed lip balm product and its holder. It should be easy-to-use and comfortable, provide convenience and choice to the consumer, remain usable if inadvertently stored at excessively high temperatures, and be replaceable should it become unusable.